I joined Angie's List for $11 with a Groupon coupon and proceeded to look for contractors who were familiar with 203K jobs. There were a few but I decided on two because of their references, which granted could be made up by friends and family but eh, whatever I gave them and Angie the benefit of the doubt. I also had two other contractor that had been recommended by my friends and family; so now I have four.
It was suggested to me by my HPAP inspector and agent that I should overlap the times that the contractors arrive, to let them know there is competition on. Cool.
The first appointment was scheduled for 10am with Mike of HomePro. Mike called me at 9am and told me how glad he was to meet with me, that I made a wise decision calling him, that he has been in this business for years, that they are the best wha wha wha! After his sales pitch he then told me that he wouldn't actually be meeting with me it would be his partner Brian who has had over 41years experience wha wha wha.....
I then get a call from Brian, who repeats almost verbatim what Mike said!
I get to the house at 9:30am, Brian arrives at 9:45 and my agent arrives at 10:10am. Brian and I are talking and walking around the house and he is still telling me how many years he's been doing this and how great he is and wha wha wha. Now, I have a write up form that needs to be completed, by him for all the work that is needed for HPAP and me; he doesn't want to deal with that, so much so that he left his glasses in the car. I'm being polite because I'm speaking to an elder, but I'm trying to redirect him to the form that must be completed. ugh. Once my agent arrives Brian stops talking to me and is now diverting all his attention to 'the man' (because this little girl has no idea) well that made my decision right there....on to the next one.
Brian and Mike proceeded to call me twice each after the inspection was completed.
My remaining 3 contractors who arrived at 11:30 Impact Construction, 12:00 Unlimited Home Services and 12:30 Arc Builders were amazing, pointing out things that they could do, showing me things that I had missed and most importantly talking to me as a client not a child. I think I have made my decision as to whom I want to work with already but, I have to wait for their write up, showing how they intend to use the money. I will also base my decision on their timeliness as that is a major factor in any construction project.
After all the meetings I called my HPAP inspector who was very happy and entertained by my morning and the characters I encountered. This is going to be very interesting. Stay tuned.
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